This evening the 59th London Film Festival kicks off with a Gala screening of Sarah Gavron’s rousing depiction of the Suffragette movement. The film well lays out the spirit of this year’s festival – the power and presence of female filmmakers.

This morning Gavron was joined by Suffragette screenwriter Abi Morgan and two members of the film’s cast, Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep for the press conference.

During the event Streep spoke of her experience with the film review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, and the imbalance of viewpoints she found. It’s an opinion often shared about the dearth of women in the film industry, both in front of and behind the camera. With the LFF throwing a spotlight on the problem there is a good chance that this inequality can be examined and, hopefully, resolved.

Suffragette Press Conference in Full

Meryl Streep on Women in the Film Industry (Using Rotten Tomatoes as an Example)

More on LFF:

Last night the stars turned out for the pre-festival Luminous Gala, you can see those interviews below,

Father and writer. In gutter, looking at stars.
Movie quotes I live my life by: 'Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while - you might miss it.' 'Carpe Diem!' 'When somebody asks you if you're a God - you say YES!'